Monday, September 25, 2006

Through much of the spring, I followed New Orlean's progress towards recovery and its ability to host the 2008 Democratic National Convention. A lot of people were disappointed when New Orleans decided not to bid for the convention, citing higher priorities. While I think that was the right decision, as I write this, there are over 70,000 people in the Superdome getting ready to watch the Saints play a football game, and that's way more than would ever be inside the Superdome for a political convention. While I understand that the logistical requirements of the convention are far greater than for a regular-season NFL game, it makes you wonder whether New Orleans made the decision not to bid for the 2008 Democratic Convention a bit prematurely.

1 comments:

The DNC should seriously consider having their 2008 convention in New Orleans. It would be a very big economic and psychological boost the city, and it will come at a time when it could really use it (after the fatigue of rebuilding has mostly passed).

Secondly, the city would be a specter to Republicans: Despite Bush's incompetence and indifference, New Orleans came back, front and center. The unspoken message would be "Just as Democrats embrace this battered city and nurse it back to life, Dems will do the same thing for America."

Of course, this makes so much sense it will never happen. Republicans win merely by allowing the Democrats to lose.